Making sense of life as we know it, in the light of evolution.

Tag Archives: climate

Every Friday at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! our contributors pass around links to new scientific results, or science-y news, or videos of adorable wildlife, that they’re most likely to bring up while waiting in line for a latte.

My apologies for the lateness of this Korean version of the Friday Coffee Break!

From Sarah:

Starting off on a light note this article describes how dogs can “catch” yawns from humans but only after they are old enough to understand empathy and emotion. Also from Sarah, has anybody wondered why no mention of the dreaded “C” word (aka Climate Change) has come up at any of the presidential debates? This blog post from the NYTimes discusses that issue.

From Noah:

Rogue scientist and entrepreneur Russ George dumped tons of iron dust in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Canada, “calling it a “state-of-the-art study,” said his team scattered iron dust several hundred miles west of the islands of Haida Gwaii, in northern British Columbia, in exchange for $2.5 million from a native Canadian group. The iron spawned the growth of enormous amounts of plankton, which Mr. George, a former fisheries and forestry worker, said might allow the project to meet one of its goals: aiding the recovery of the local salmon fishery for the native Haida. ”

From Jeremy:

Does taking Ritalin increase individuals enhance desire for social conformity? This study here postulates that there may be some element of connection between increased dopamine levels brought on by taking Ritalin and conforming to social norms.

From Devin:

This link (which at the time of publishing this story appeared to be broken) is a tumblr page dedicated to “things I learned as a field biologist.” Hopefully the link gets fixed soon.

From Jon:

Given the overabundance of awesome links and a couple medically related ones, I’m going to end this post with a fun video! Did you know that the lyrics to Gangnam Style is a satire poking fun at the wealthy Gangnam district in Seoul and also discusses how the singer likes the kind of lady who enjoys the freedom of a cup of coffee. I figured given this connection it was only perfect to end the month of October with the Gangnam Style theme!